Recently in General Category

I've been seeing a lot of movements within renewable chems within the past several weeks...

• Sam Kratzer has joined BioBased Technologies as the company's chief operating officer. Kratzer comes to BioBased Technologies® most recently from Archway Sales where he was director of marketing. Archway is a distributor of Agrol® polyols, one of the products developed by BioBased Technologies®.

• Elevance Renewable Sciences has picked David Kelsey as its new chief financial officer. Kelsey was most recently senior vice president and CFO at Sealed Air Corporation, a Fortune 500 company and a leader in global manufacturing of a wide range of food, protective and specialty packaging materials and systems.

• Verdezyne has appointed Brian Conn as chief financial officer and Steve Jackson as chief operations officer. Conn was formerly CFO of MicroIslet, Inc., a preclinical biotech company developing a therapy for Type 1 Diabetes. Jackson has served as Verdezyne's CFO and COO since 2008.

• Christophe Lacroix has been appointed Head of Alliances, Partnerships and Business Management at France-based METabolic EXplorer. He will be responsible for global strategy for the Company's product lines, and for setting up strategic alliances and manufacturing and commercial cooperation agreements.

• Gevo has appointed Gary W. Mize, partner and owner at MR & Associates, as a director. Prior to his current position at MR & Associates, Mize was president of Rawhide Energy LLC, an ethanol company, and served as non-executive chairman at Ceres Global AG, a Canadian public company that serves as a vehicle for agribusiness investments.

• John Melo, CEO of renewable chemical and fuels company Amyris, has joined the Renmatix Board of Directors. Ellen Purdy, will fill the chief financial officer role as Renmatix expands operations. Prior to joining Renmatix, Ellen Purdy served as CFO for SDI, serving the pharmaceutical and biotech markets.

• Proterro has established a three-member advisory board of experts in the fields of renewable energy, biofuels and chemical production. Making up the board are Harrison F. Dillon, president and the chief technology officer of Solazyme; Thomas Dries, founder and managing partner of NCN Partners; and Christos Papadopoulos, led BP Chemicals' efforts that resulted in Department of Energy funding of the Green Olefins Machine project.

This is an article from ICIS Chemical Business published on May 16 and written by ICIS colleague Brian Balboa. Brian handles the ICIS pricing report on US butanediol (BDO) and he was able to talk to his contacts in the industry about bio-BDO and what they think about its developments.

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The debate over bio-BDO is likely to continue for some time yet

One of the biggest questions coming out of the NPRA International Petrochemical Conference (IPC) in March this year was from the butanediol (BDO) market, regarding the emerging bio-BDO sector: "Is bio-BDO for real?" asked a BDO consumer on the sidelines of the IPC.

Although the development of a commercial-scale bio-BDO plant is still in the works, trade participants are still skeptical, and remain interested in how this may impact the market. "Would consumers be willing to pay a premium for bio-BDO?" one major BDO producer asked. A consumer reckoned no-one, "unless there was a directive to go green."

The consumer added if the specifications for a petrochemical-based BDO and a bio-based BDO were similar or equal, then bio-BDO may be a good alternative feedstock source - especially if supply in the market remained tight. But some have said bio-BDO may not necessarily be more expensive than petrochemical-based BDO.

"I don't see that there will be a cost delta between hydrocarbon-based BDO and bio-based BDO," another North American consumer said. "Bio-based producers are approaching the market at par with their competition."

The consumer also said some ­producers are savvier about the demand and opportunity than others, and expects there to be more announcements about that in the coming months.

Market participants have described the current BDO market as globally tight, with strong demand in all regions.

In North America, suppliers said during the first quarter that demand was so strong they declined requests for extra volume outside of contractual obligations. This year, there have been some major announcements about the development of bio-BDO - and its potential impact on the BDO market.

One company at the forefront of this is US biochemical company Genomatica.

Myriant Technologies and Davy Process Technology also announced in February that they signed a memorandum of understanding covering the use of succinic acid as a bio-derived feedstock for the production of BDO, tetrahydrofuran (THF) and gamma-butyrolactone.

On April 28, Genomatica signed a broad memorandum of understanding with Mitsubishi Chemical, outlining multiple potential areas of collaboration.

This includes the study of a joint venture for bio-BDO production in Asia, by building the first commercial plant in the region using the Genomatica's direct, one-step technology and Mitsubishi's BDO applications and business knowledge. 

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There had been a lot of announcements since this was published in May.

• Metabolix announced its joint development deal for its polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA)-based C4 chemicals -- initially BDO, tetrahydrofuran (THF), gamma butyrolactone (GBL) and polyester engineering resins (PBT) -- with Korea-based industrial biotechnology company CJ CheilJedang.

• Genomatica files for IPO.

• BASF and Purac formed a bio-succinic acid JV and reportedly aiming to be the first commercial bio-succinic acid producer in the market with a 25,000 tons/year capacity that will be located in Purac's site near Barcelona, Spain.

• BioAmber announced new biosuccinic acid and bio-BDO plants in Ontario, Canada, and in Rayong, Thailand.

Consulting firm Nexant is actually working on a study this year to analyze various bio-BDO technologies. The report will provide comparison of the technology, economics and potential markets for bio-BDO.

The blog has been following the biobutanol patent issues between Butamax and Gevo since August 9. Last week, however, Gevo announced its request to the US Patent and Trademarked Office (USPTO) to invalidate Butamax's patent 7,851,188 issued on December 2010, which covers biocatalysts that Butamax developed to produce isobutanol.

Gevo is also filing a second petitiion with the USPTO to invalidate Butamax's patent 7,993,889 which was granted on August 9. This patent covers methods for low-cost production of biobutanol.

Butamax filed an infringement lawsuit against Gevo on January this year regarding the '188 patent. On August 9, Butamax amended the lawsuit to also include the related '889 patent. On Gevo's recent press release, the company said the two patents were already known in the scientific community and were already been invented by others before Butamax applied for the patents. 

"Furthermore, Gevo does not use the technology claimed in these patents. We use our own distinct technology, GIFT® (Gevo Integrated Fermentation Technology®), which is covered by more than 150 patent applications and enables the efficient production of isobutanol." - Gevo

It must be intimidating for a small company to go against chemical giants such as DuPont. However, this patent fight seems to signal the growing potential importance of bio-butanol for the biofuel and chemical industries. The blog would like to hear opinions from other bio-isobutanol producers about this issue...

The Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership contacted me if I know any consultants out there that are interested in their project below. The truth is I don't really know who to recommend so I'm going to give everybody their chance to contact the group -- just don't contact me on this unless you want to say thanks =).

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We are looking for a consultant that can undertake a review of our current marketing strategy in support of the biohybrid chemistry cluster.

The Economic Partnership is the regional economic development agency for the region of Sarnia-Lambton in Ontario Canada. Traditionally, Sarnia-Lambton has been a North American Cluster for traditional petrochemical and refining activities. During the past six years, working with our regional partners, we have made considerable progress in establishing the region as an emerging bio-hybrid cluster. Our partners include the Sustainable Chemistry Alliance, the Bioindustrial Innovation Centre, the LANXESS Bioindustrial Park Sarnia, the University of Western Ontario Research Park and Lambton College.

The Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership is seeking the services of a consultant with expertise in contemporary economic development marketing together with an understanding of the emerging biochemicals sector. The consultant will also have practical working knowledge of the site location process

It should be noted that submissions will be accepted from consultant teams, where two or more firms collaborate on the project.

The consultant will perform the following services:

1. Document and assess the Sarnia-Lambton Biohybrid Chemistry Cluster's strengths and weaknesses in relation to the key site location requirements for the attraction of commercial scale next generation biochemical investment.

2. Perform an analysis of the Sarnia-Lambton Biohybrid Chemistry Cluster's marketing strategy and related programs for the attraction of commercial scale next generation biochemical investment

3. Create a refined value proposition to improve the effectiveness of strategic attraction activities pertaining to next generation biochemical investment

4. Development of a tactical marketing plan

Depending on the consultant, there could be some flexibility in the required services. Attached is a copy of the RFP for the project.

CONTACT:
Mike Ireland
Senior Development Consultant
Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership

1086 Modeland Road
Building 1050, Suite 100
The University of Western Ontario Research Park
Sarnia-Lambton Campus
Sarnia, Ontario N7S 6L2

Telephone 519.332.1820
Email: ireland@sarnialambton.on.ca

Is the global bioplastic industry already benefiting from plastic bag ban in Italy? US-based Cereplast thinks so as it currently goes through its construction plans of a 100,000 tonne/year bioplastic facility in Assissi (Cannara), Italy.

"After exploring possible sites in several countries in Europe, we identified a central location in Italy, where we have established several strong distribution relationships. In addition, the Italian government has expressed its strong support for the development and use of bioplastics, therefore it was the obvious location choice for our plant." - Frederic Scheer, Cereplast CEO.

According to Scheer, 85% of their business is already based in Europe, where bioplastic demand is expected to reach 1m tons by 2014. The European bioplastics market is growing by 15-20%/year according to the European Bioplastic Association.

Cereplast's plant will be financed through local and regional financing with Italian institutions and is expected to receive subsidies from various state and local agencies. The initial investment is estimated to be about €10 million to €12 million. In the company's recent earnings call, Scheer noted that Cereplast is continuing to benefit from plastic bag ban legislation such as in Italy, where it came into effect on January 1 this year.

According to an article from ICIS, the Italian plastic bag industry uses between 200,000 and 250,000 tonnes/year of polyethylene (PE), low density PE (LLDPE), high density PE (HDPE) and linear low density PE (LLDPE). The article also compared lower plastic bag demand in Ireland and France following similar legal measures. (Ireland placed taxes on single-use plastic bags since 2002).

I don't know if the plastic bag bans contribute to several other recent bioplastic investment activities announced for Italy or is it because there are already nice plastic manufacturing infrastructure there as well as good feedstock sourcing --or maybe combination of all of the above.

One is the announcement from DSM, in partnership with Roquette, who plans to open a commercial-scale 10,000 tons/year bio-succinic acid plant in Cassano Spinola, Italy, by the second half of 2012. For those who are not familiar with succinic acid, it is a chemical building block for the manufacture of a lot of products but its use for polymers production seem to be standing out more often. The joint venture said they will focus on new applications for succinic acid in materials such as polybutylene succinate (Pbs) and 1,4 butanediol (BDO).

My colleague Anna Jagger actually wrote a more comprehensive article about the announcement for ICIS Chemical Business (subcription only for this one - sorry...). DSM and Roquette said they will consider building a larger facility in the future if demand for ­biosuccinic acid develops in line with expectations.

I asked DSM why Italy. Here's their answer:

"We investigated multiple global options and used several criteria to make the selection. We looked at the market, sustainability, production costs, availability of feedstocks (integration in an existing biorefinery). We also realized that this is our first production plant, that is a step in our strategy to a larger production facility. Cassano is also a site that is experienced in the fermentative production of e.g. gluconic acid."

Another announcement was from US-based Genomatica, which is planning to build a cellulosic-based bio-BDO demonstration facility in Rivalta, Italy, in collaboration with engineering firm Chemtex, a subsidiary of Italian plastic producer M&G (Gruppo Mossi & Ghisolfi). Genomatica declined to indicate how much capacity the bio-BDO plant will be although it said that it will immediately move to commercial scale of around 45,000 tonnes/year once the demo has been successfully run, which is expected to be the first half of 2012.

The plant will use a variety of biomass feedstock including energy crops like arundo donax and sorghum; agricultural residues like sugarcane bagasse or wheat and rice straws; and poplar or eucalyptus wood.

Why Italy? "We are locating this facility in Italy because of the proven pilot scale production of PROESA, coupled with M&G's construction of the largest cellulosic ethanol plant in the world at Crescentino" - Genomatica

The company said they have not yet announced specific distribution for their bio-BDO but have seen very strong demand for bio-based sustainable chemicals in the European market.

Last but not the least, Italian bioplastic producer Novamont said late last year that they are planning to expand their biopolymer production capacity from 80,000 tonnes/year to 150,000 tonnes/year by the end of 2012 or early 2013. Novamont did not disclose the new plant's location in Italy.

Novamont said sales from their biopolymers has increased 20-30% every year for the past few years.

[Photo by Fashionblabla]

It is interesting to note that the petrochemical industry is now interested in learning more about renewable-based chemicals alternatives as seen on this year's International Petrochemical Conference supplement commissioned by the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) for distribution at their annual meeting this week in San Antonio, Texas.

The NPRA picked ICIS to do the supplement although the trade group already had suggested topics for coverage. I, of course, was happy to contribute when I heard the NPRA wanted to know more about bio-based chemicals and their developments.

Thanks to my colleague John Baker (who put together the supplement) for giving me the chance to write this one. And I can post the article for free too! (Check it out below)

For those attending the NPRA, ICIS has a hospitality suite Salon C at the Marriott Riverwalk hotel. The ICIS suite will be open from Sunday 27th-Tuesday 29th March. You can also follow ICIS tweet updates at the NPRA via #ICIS and #NPRA hashtags.

The green blogger will be doing her patriotic duty and hopefully will have internet access while doing so. Not yet sure when I'll be back online but in the meantime I found this hilarious blog on ways to spice up the jury duty selection process...

This is the green blogger's first time attending the selection process and personally hoping that... "people on trial that day set tables up next to the line and offer free face painting and cotton candy."

I am still working on the Weekly News Roundup including a separate Biofuel News roundup but in the meantime, I want to acknowledge BSchool.com, an online MBA school information and resources, for including Green Chemicals blog in its list of 50 Best Blogs for green business students.

Not sure if the blog has been included in any list before but it is exciting and encouraging to hear that MBA students are interested in the economics and new technologies coming from the green chemistry field.

The blog was included under the category "Industry and Engineering"  citing an archived post about green buildings trend as a recommended read.

Thank you very much for putting the blog on the list!

[Photo image by Go Green Blog]

I guess I have to eventually show my non-caricature face to the public and get out more from my glorious blogging anonymity. I am excited to announce (although I am also nervous to do this for the first time) that I will be co-moderating a Green Chemistry Panel Discussion/Webcast on March 3 hosted by the American Chemical Society's Chemical Marketing & Economics (CM&E) group - NY chapter.

The panel will include Bill Barclay, chief technology officer at Martek Biosciences (which you will recall, the company is being acquired by DSM); Chris Cerimele, head of chemicals practice at Houlihan Lokey; and Peter Shepard, executive vice president at Novomer.

My co-moderator is the green blog's esteemed colleague (and a blogger of his own right), Neil Burns, managing partner of Neil A Burns LLC. I'm hoping he'll do more of the talking actually so I can write down notes (haha!).

Here are further information for the event. I hope to see you there!

You can click here for registration.

I've been wondering who has the most active press communications based on press release announcements among the companies that I've previously covered. Amyris and Cereplast seem neck and neck but I'm betting on Cereplast.

The blog received 3 announcements the past two weeks alone. The biggest one is the company's plans to open a manufacturing plant in Europe sometime next year that will handle at least 200m lbs of capacity, double the size of its US production facility in Seymour, Indiana. Cereplast announced in January 4 that it opened its European headquarters in Bonen, Germany to support its operation expansion in this region.

The company noted demand for bioplastic resin continues to grow in Europe as a result of legislation ban in the sale of plastic bags including the recently approved ban in Italy.

Today, I just saw their announcement about entering a multimillion dollar supply and distribution deal with BioWorks PI to supply Cereplast bioplastic resins to the Polish market. BioWorks is a division of Galant, a European manufacturer and distributor of plastic products such as cutlery, cups, straws and extruded films for shopping and garbage bags.

Finally, Cereplast officially opened last week its nationwide design competition called 'Make Your Mark' for a symbol that represents bioplastic. The symbol will indicate that a product is made from green, bio-based material and not petroleum-based material. The new symbol will serve in a similar fashion to how the recycling symbol is used to identify products that are made from recycled materials and/or are recyclable

If you're feeling creative, you can submit your entry via www.iizuu.com/cereplast. Deadline for entries is March 4, 2011. Like American Idol, the top 50 entries will be determined based on a public voting system at the website but the top 3 designs will be be selected by judges.

The winner will be announced on Earth Day Eve, April 21, and will receive $25,000. Check out some of the designs here.